Category: the writing life

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Robert Chazz Chute! Where are you?

Answer: Everywhere!

I’ll soon pitch my next thriller to agents. I needed to expand my presence on the infobahn to appear everywhere with annoying rapidity. To that end, I’ve been writing on Medium. I have to admit, I’m having a good time with it. Plus, I’m on a couple of podcasts this week!

First up, the MMMM pod with my friend and author Andrew Butters. MMMM stands for Music, Musings, Moments, and Misfortune. Every Monday, Andrew posts about one of those aspects. I am his first guest, and ours was the fourth episode. (That qualifies as a Moment.) We had a great time talking about writing, reading, the worst thing I forgot, and the greatest frustration we share.

Next up: My interview with Buddy Gott on Pop & Prose!

This recording got hilarious fast. The subject is novelty songs. We came up with some good ones, a couple of horrible tunes, and two of my favorites.

Spoiler: “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah” is my favorite.

This novelty song is my favorite, but Buddy and I talk about so much more! You’ll find us on Pop & Prose here:

You can also find Pop and Prose here:

Substack 

Spotify

Here are posts I’ve placed on Medium. Enjoy!






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New on the Menu

The writing workshop in Toronto is coming up in a couple of weeks. I am preparing to pitch literary agents for Vengeance Is Hers. Four agents I would consider partnering with are at the workshop. I have three others in mind, as well. Part of the prep work is to have the partial ready for their review. I have a sample ready.

Hot tip:

If you are pitching to agents or just want to give away a sample of your work for a book fair, a signing, or some other such trial by fire, get a QR code. I do have a presentation package for agents, but I won’t be lugging around a manuscript like some early 19th century peasant. I’m a modern ink-stained wretch. Instead, I’ll just give the QR code to link to the partial. If they want more, I’ve provided an email for further inquiries.

What’s New?

I have added menus to this website. Above, you’ll find links to my bio and what reviewers say about my work. The pitch and partial for Vengeance Is Hers is found under For Literary Agents. Of course, if you aren’t a literary agent but want a sneak peek of a badass story about a young woman on a righteous quest for revenge, enjoy a taste of vengeance!

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Commonly Misused Words

The misuse of words grinds my gears. I have a short list of the worst offenders I’ve heard recently.

  1. “An exuberant amount of money.” No, it’s an exorbitant amount of money.
  2. “Pundint.” You mean to say, pundit, no second n.
  3. Erudite sounds like it looks: Air-oo-dite. It’s not “aeriodite.”
  4. You don’t “flaunt the law.” You flout it.
  5. Library has an r in it. Not “Lie-berry.”
  6. Elon Musk AKA Phony Stark, is not an inventor. He’s an investor who considers you not at all. (That’s not altogether fair. He thinks a lot of you are parasites.)

    Which misused words irk you?
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Not Every Vanity Publisher is Out to Scam You

Some people will not like this post, but I’m going to be real with you. Not all “vanity” publishers are con artists. Many writers call it evil to publish novice authors for money. They’re speaking from a privilege that doesn’t always address reality. If you reject nuance, this post won’t be for you.

We’ve all heard Harlan Ellison’s rule, “The money flows to the author.” It’s a solid principle in traditional and independent publishing. However, not everyone is playing the same game. That brush is painting a broad red stripe across innocent people who are trying to help the helpless. For flailing writers, paying to publish does make sense sometimes.

To find out if something on offer is a scam, I suggest consulting Writer Beware. It’s an excellent resource to identify dishonest actors across the publishing industry. I’m not talking about scams today, though. I’m talking about getting books to market that would never see the light of day otherwise.

See It from the Novice’s Point of View

On this subject, veteran writers are often eager to jump in with condemnations. Anything that smacks of pay-to-publish or so-called “ego publishing” offends them. “If it wouldn’t see the light of day otherwise, it should stay in the dark! Don’t publish!”

Would you say that to my dearly departed father and father-in-law? They published their autobiographies in their twilight years. They weren’t vying for the New York Times bestseller list. They looked back on their lives and wanted to leave a record behind for their families. True, they could have tried going through a local printer. That would have been more expensive than publishing a “real book” through Amazon. They got a kick out of seeing their memoirs on Amazon.

For my father-in-law, this project was particularly important. His childhood experience as a Japanese Canadian imprisoned by his own government during WWII spoke to his community. As his memory failed, his little memoir became dogeared. He went through it again and again, and would sometimes exclaim, “I know this story!” He passed away last year, but his memories are preserved. That memoir is still a comfort to our family.

Addressing The War on Fun


Let’s clear up one common objection immediately. There’s no such thing as “cluttering up” the digital marketplace if that’s your worry. There are a zillion blogs on Earth, but no one labels them clutter that gets in the way of discovering something more meritorious. Amazon is, first and foremost, a search engine. You won’t find these books unless you search for them hard, and that’s on you. Books that don’t sell are relegated to niches deep in the archive. You won’t see them, so no harm, no foul.

This is rarely a service I’ve provided to authors of multiple books. No one knows which book will take off and be a hit, but this kind of work is almost always a one-off. One IP ended up becoming a documentary and a movie, but that’s very rare. The author was new to book publishing, but he could write well and had unusual experiences to share.

Gatekeepers cry, “Learn the ropes! Take courses! You can do it all yourself! Learn how to do it like I did!” My dads didn’t have that kind of time. They had a lot of abilities in their fields of interest, but knew nothing about how to get what they’d written between covers.

I helped out my family for free, but I’ve been paid for it by others. I never called myself a vanity publisher, but that’s pretty much what it amounted to in most cases. I provided services to novice authors who were clueless about the book business. Most had neither the time nor inclination to make a career out of writing. It was for personal satisfaction. Publishing a book was a bucket list item to show off to their friends. For some, it was a business card to complement their business ventures and establish their expertise in the eyes of customers.

(Note: Everyone I worked with kept all their rights, no matter how much work I did. If you’re considering paying someone to guide you through the publishing process, hold on to your rights in the agreement. It will cost you more, but in the end, your name is on the cover.)

What does a Publishing Rabbi or a Book Shepherd do exactly?


I called it book consulting and project management. My services included educating novices about the publishing process, working with editors and graphic designers on the author’s behalf, and providing advice on covers, metadata, blurbs, and marketing. I’ve helped polish manuscripts for publication, sometimes ghostwriting. In other cases, my “edit” was really a rewrite to make a manuscript more salable, more organized, or more coherent. It was a lot of work that often took time away from my creations, so yes, without shame, I got paid for it.

Not everyone wants to write for a living. Not everyone can. That doesn’t necessarily mean they shouldn’t have a book with their name on it. It might be for their bookshelf and theirs alone. That’s okay. It’s not a scam if it’s what they always wanted to fulfill their heart’s desire.

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I’ll Never Be John Grisham

Until recently, I’d never read any John Grisham. He’s an incredibly successful novelist. He has entertained millions of readers and apparently has a net worth north of $400 million! Impressive. I’ll never have anywhere near that tier of success for one very important reason (at least it’s important to me).

Ken Follett’s cover quote is that John Grisham is “The best thriller writer alive.”

My incurable folly

I was on my way to Cuba. I needed something to take my mind off defying God by cramming myself into a flying death tube just to see palm trees. She Who Must Be Obeyed handed me Camino Island for the journey. This novelist is probably old news to you, but an unread book is always new to the uninitiated.

The story held a few surprises up front. I liked the heist very much. I love heist capers, and this was a clever one that made sense. I did have a quibble immediately after the first scene concluded, though. The cops arrive, scoop up a few drops of blood, and have the name of one of the perpetrators immediately. DNA analysis doesn’t work that quickly. That’s some CSI nonsense., but readers who value narrative speed over verisimilitude (and plenty do) won’t mind.

Fun note: I recently learned the most accurate forensic science show was Quincy M.E. It would be out of date now, but I was impressed the show didn’t use fake props. They bought real medical equipment and their forensic scientist actually had a role on the show.

I see the value and appreciate the lure of Grisham’s prose. It’s so straightforward, it makes for a fast read. I get it. The sentence structures are so simple to swallow: NOUN + VERB + OBJECT. Repeat. It’s as easy as an elementary school textbook. See Dick run.

A smarter writer would emulate the master’s success. I’m not a smarter writer. What I missed was interiority.

“Interiority is a writing technique that explores a character’s inner life, including their thoughts, feelings, and actions. It’s a way to show readers how a character processes information and makes sense of the world around them.” ~ according to the internet.

I read a good chunk of Camino Island, and not once did I get a glimpse inside a character’s head. The danger of overusing omniscience is the writer ends up telling instead of showing. Any writing teacher advises, “Show, don’t tell.” We don’t write, “She was nervous.” We write, “Betsy’s hands shook. Her heart raced and she could not slow her breathing.”

I’m all for showing, not telling. However, I love to explore motivations. My characters struggle to make sense of their worlds. I’m struggling with that all the time, too. So, I’m committed to failure in that I can’t emulate John Grisham’s style. Good for him, probably bad for me. He’s not wrong. We’re just different.

On the other hand, I visited a little specialty bookstore yesterday. They had a very small general fiction section, but it was well curated. I was pleased to find that I’d read many of the novels on their shelves. It gave me confidence that I’d find more great books to my taste there. Many other novelists have had success using techniques that explore characters’ inner worlds. Few novelists ever touch the heights of Grisham’s financial success and vast fan base, but I still believe there’s room for me on the Reader Ship. I might have to settle for cargo class, but I’m on the same boat.

I’ll never be John Grisham, but I have an excellent shot at being Robert Chazz Chute.

Not a single “he thought” or “she thought in italics here.” Alas.

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Energize Your Writing Life with Attack Mode

Years ago, I went to a one-man show put on by director Kevin Smith. Between the jokes, he talked about taking advantage of opportunities and making good things happen. One key takeaway was the Wayne Gretzky quote: “Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” That advice proved timely. It coincided with meeting a harbinger of the future at a writing conference in 2010. The experience set me on the path to founding Ex Parte Press.

That harbinger? She was the first person I’d met who read ebooks exclusively. It was a glimpse of the imminent future. A new market had opened and was rapidly expanding. Growing pains and a gold rush lay dead ahead. I’d written a lot, and now I had a place to put it. Mostly, that meant Amazon.

That writing conference took place in Victoria, BC. The outlier was one of the conference organizers. She introduced me as “Roger” as I was about to perform a reading of a short story. I made a joke of it, beginning with, “You got my name wrong, but by the end of this story, you’ll know who I am and remember it!” Sure, I flirted with being obnoxious, but I was confident in my material. I didn’t just read that story about a fight with my dad over money. I attacked it. The reading was very well-received.

It was fun to meet other writers, pick up some tips, and even make a few allies. The thing I enjoy most about writing conferences is how energizing they are. In April, I’m headed to Toronto for a Writing Day Workshop. There will be lectures and discussions and wonky stuff about the book business. I will meet with four agents that day, and I am so excited.

ATTACK MODE: ACTIVATED

If you are curious about attending a conference, here’s the link.

If you need more motivation, here’s a link to their success stories.

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Why Become a Hybrid Author?

I spent the last couple of mornings working on a short story for a big writing contest. Between editing the new novel and beginning work on the sequel, I have found renewed purpose in my writing. After a fallow period, I’m in a creative frenzy again. The days fly by, and I’m always surprised how late it is when I come up for air. I’m having a great time here at Ex Parte Press world headquarters, but maybe it’s time for a change.

Then

I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t read or write. I always wanted to be a writer. I thought journalism was the way in and wrote for magazines and newspapers. By the time I finished journalism school, I’d become disillusioned with the newspaper business. I wanted something more creative. I freelanced for magazines and wrote a regular column. Speech writing was rewarding, but there wasn’t enough of it. I won a bunch of writing contests, but mostly, I wrote for myself. Often creating worlds long into the night, I immersed myself in the work. More compulsion than plan, I just had to write. There was no goal other than the work itself. Always focused on composing the next shiny word bauble, I did not submit anything to publishers or agents.

Why did I hold myself back? A character flaw. I haven’t had a boss since 1991. I always eschewed team sports. Even the word “submission” connotes many agents’ and publishers’ relationship with their stables of ink-stained wretches. “Spec” is another clue to the hierarchy. Working on spec, you are a speck. In short, I have a history of being a control freak. On the other hand, I’ve worked collaboratively multiple times and enjoyed it, so maybe I’ve grown.

Ancient History

After graduating from the Banff Publishing Workshop boot camp, I moved from the East Coast to Toronto and found myself in the publishing industry. I toiled in production, editorial, sales, and marketing. My exposure to the industry played a big part in how I felt about the establishment. I sat in meetings where authors, the backbone of the business, were openly disparaged. The choices of what was bought and sold often held a distasteful element of caprice and snobbery.

I entered the arena with such romantic ideas about publishing. I left with a greater understanding of the world. This is true everywhere, no matter the industry: Some firms court and hire geniuses, but every staff has a knob (sometimes several more than few). It’s not easy finding a good match with an agent or a publisher. And yet, here I am, contemplating the possibilities in earnest.

Why so cautious, though? The simple answer is plenty of authors have horror stories about their agents and publishers. For instance, back in the early days of Twitter, some agents used the medium to show their asses. These self-proclaimed sharks made fun of pitches they deemed unworthy. Whether it was foolishness, fatigue, or hubris, some made sweeping generalizations about what books were “acceptable.” Not just to their taste, mind you! Just, in their eyes, bad and wrong. “No characters with synesthesia! No divorced dads writing about being divorced dads!”

I understand agents’ need to curate, even discourage, the incoming avalanche over the transom, but the offenders’ tone was offensive. (Full disclosure: I’m not a divorced dad, but I did write a main character on the spectrum who also experienced synesthesia. It’s my most successful series.)

Now

Someone asked me what changed my mind about jumping back in the traditional publishers’ end of the pool. The reasons are multi-factorial, but here’s a peek inside the nutshell:

  • Political forces have changed. That affects my chances of getting read. Many are already boycotting Amazon. As the next four years progress, I expect more readers will opt to buy from other legacy publishing platforms. I’ve done well by Amazon in the past, but the Amazon gold rush has been over for years. It’s time to seriously explore ways to expand my readership.
  • I haven’t enjoyed the marketing end of the business. My experiments with going wide to other e-publishing platforms have consistently failed. Amazon marketed me best. They simply proved themselves better at selling my genres. It’s time to give going wide another try, but this time, I mean really wide. Bookstores, book fairs, book clubs. I’ll show up to the opening of an envelope if it means I get a chance to interact with readers and plug my book.
  • Like Batman, it would be nice to have some backup, so I’m looking for a solid partner, a Robin, if you will. I want more heft behind my next marketing push. Before someone chimes in, I know! I know! Most publishers offer very little marketing support. For sound financial and logistical reasons, even if you get hyped, it doesn’t last long. Most marketing still depends on the author. I have no illusions about that, but I’m also willing to do more on the marketing side than I have in the past.
  • The high commercial potential of my latest novel makes a big difference here. I find myself with an up-scale thriller that isn’t bogged down with the drawbacks of my usual genre choices. With an intellectual property that is easier to sell to a broader audience, it’s a good time to jump.
  • My wife had a health scare recently. We’re dealing with that, and it’s going well, but going hybrid makes more sense from a time management perspective. Despite my independent leanings, I’ve never really been a one-man band. I have great resources among my friends: my editor, Gari Strawn, my prime beta reader, Russ, my graphics people, and many supportive readers. The term self-publishing is a misnomer. I’ve never published alone. However, partnering with the right agent and publishing firm would spread some of the responsibilities around.
  • Perhaps most important of all my considerations, going hybrid now makes more sense because I have recently developed a shortlist of likely agents. My strategy is not to blanket the planet with pitches. I’m aiming at particular targets. If it doesn’t work out with literary agents whom I consider the A-Team, I’ll go it on my own as I have since 2010.
  • I’ve written a bunch of good to great to excellent novels. Don’t believe it? Just ask me. The writing quality is there. The visibility is not. I’ve long felt my literary stock is undervalued. By opening myself to options and trying something different, my work might finally get noticed.

    That’s my why of becoming a hybrid author. Now, to work on the how.